• Home
  • About
    • Media
    • Press
  • Work With Me
    • Mentoring
    • Becoming a Client
    • Book a Session
    • Speaking
  • Online Programs
  • Blog/Recipes
    • Blog
    • Recipes
  • Love
  • Contact

Permission to indulge!

6 years ago
Kirstin Nussgruber

If you are like me, every now and then there is this innate urge to sink your teeth into a delectable cookie. It’s the ultimate comfort food, that pairs deliciously well with a steaming cup of hot green tea.

As an ardent anti-cancer diet follower though, I had a dilemma! Indulging in a cookie is not exactly congruent with keeping my sugar-intake at bay. Store-bought cookies here in the US are super sweet, and laden with refined sugars and flours that can cause your blood sugar level to sky-rocket. Even home-made cookies usually ask for a hefty dose of sugar. So why is this of concern you may ask.

We have known for a long time that sugar fuels cancer growth.

Way back in 1931 the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to German researcher Dr Otto Warburg who stated then, over 80 years ago, that cancer cells metabolize energy differently than healthy cells, via the glucose fermentation process.

This means they need sugar as fuel, and lots of it as this method of energy production is much less efficient. So in order for a tumor cell to survive, they need copious amounts of glucose, between 5-50 times more than normal cells.

Cancer cells, no matter where they originate from, have adapted to this by having a much higher number of glucose receptor cells on their membranes. This phenomenon is even used in today’s medical tests. Consider how a PET scan works. Prior to the scan you get injected with radioactively labeled glucose. The whole point of a PET scan is to find areas where glucose is taken up at a much faster rate than elsewhere, indicating the probable presence of an active tumor.

So by indulging in a super sweet cookie, I may as well be the pied paper whistling a tune to attract cancer cells. Yet dietary sugar in itself is not only the issue here. Rather, if the body cannot manage normal blood sugar levels, a problem called “insulin resistance” develops, which can be detrimental to an anti-cancer internal environment.

When our food is digested, carbohydrates are mostly converted to glucose, which with the help of the hormone insulin gets delivered to our cells for survival energy production. You heard me right, our body does need glucose, just not floods of it! It can become a vicious cycle. If glucose levels in the blood are too high, more insulin is secreted by the pancreas. If insulin levels in the blood spike, this stresses the body and creates a simmering inflammatory reaction. And this can provides an environment in the body that favors tumor growth and progression.

Still eyeing that super sweet cookie? Here’s one more red flag. Most store-bought cookies are made using hydrogenated oils and fats, a big “no-no” not just in a cancer-fighting kitchen. Why?

Fats are converted into chemical messengers (eicosanoids) which are either pro-inflammatory, and thus harmful or anti-inflammatory, and thus beneficial. We need both kinds, but too much of the pro-inflammatory kind can damage your cell membranes, the site of nutrient and waster interchange, and can lead to cellular inflammation, which can fuel cancer growth. Hydrogenated oils present in most processed foods have been denatured, they have been found to damage our delicate cell membranes.

But I really, really want a cookie, every now and then!

So here’s what I do. I make my own, and I make sure that sweet treat doubles up as a high-protein, low-sugar snack made with the right kind of fat. There is no need to eliminate all sugar, as our bodies do need glucose as fuel, just not in the amount and form we are exposed to in our westernized culture on a daily basis. Sound like a perfect solution?

5 Steps to a nutrient-dense, guilt-free Cookie

REPLACE

  1. refined white flour with whole wheat pastry or spelt flour with a dash of almond or coconut flour
  2. white sugar with a whole foods sweetener such as maple syrup or coconut palm sugar, and use half of what any recipe out there calls for
  3. hydrogenated fats as found in margarine or vegetable oils with coconut oil or real butter from pastured cows as a fat source
  4. choose dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet morsels

ENRICH

  1. add some protein: hemp seeds, chopped nuts, rolled oats or ground flax or chia seeds

And a final note: This makes for a more dense and filling cookie, but it’s still a treat, and that means indulging in moderation! Devouring the entire cookie tin in one sitting can turn even a nutrient-dense cookie into an unhealthy habit J

RECIPE

Guilt-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup or ½ lb) organic butter, softened (preferably from grass-fed cows)

1 cup coconut palm sugar

2 organic, free range eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla essence

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup spelt flour

¾ cup hulled hemp seeds or chopped walnuts or pecans

¾ cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

2-3 cups dark chocolate chips (at least 60%, Ghiradelli’s is a good brand)

Combine wet ingredients.

Combine dry ingredients.

Mix both wet and dry ingredients.

Place heaped TBPS size dough 1” apart onto baking sheet lined cookie sheet.

Makes approx. 30-45 cookies depending on size

Bake at 350 ° F for approx. 12-15 minutes

****************************

REFERENCES
Chen X, Qian Y, Wu S “The Warburg Effect: evolving interpretations of an established concept”, Free Radic Biol Med. 2015 Feb ;79:253-63. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2014.08.027. Epub 2014 Sep 30.
 Ho V, Leung K, Hsu A, et.al. “A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet Slows Tumor Growth and Prevents Cancer Initiation”, Cancer Res 2011 ul 1;71(13):4484-93. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-3973. Epub 2011 Jun 14.
 Madrigal-Martinez A, Cazana FJ, Fernandez-Martinez YA “Role of Intracellular Prostaglandin E2 in cancer-related phenotypes in PC3 cells” Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2015 Feb ;59:52-61. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2014.11.004. Epub 2014 Nov 11.
 Slattery ML, Curtin K, Ma K, Edwards S, Schaffer D, Anderson K, Samowitz W.  Diet activity, and lifestyle associations with p53 mutations in colon tumors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002;11(6):541-8
 Wallace JM.  Nutritional and botanical modulation of the inflammatory cascade – eicosanoids, cyclooxygenases, and lipoxygenases – as an adjunct in cancer therapy. Integr Cancer Ther. 2002; 1(1):7-37.
 Warburg O. On the origin of cancer cells. Science 1956; 123: 309–14.

Related Posts

No results found.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

Find out how we can work together.

Schedule a FREE Consultation
Schedule a FREE Consultation with Kirstin

<script>

Find out how we can work together

  • Book a complimentary Assessment Session with me
  • On the call (phone or Skype) we’ll talk about where you are in your cancer journey, learn a little bit more about each other and decide whether we are a good fit to work together
  • If we decide to go ahead we will talk about which program best fits your needs and discuss the
    next steps involved

Click Me

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
RSS

FREE Chapter & Video

from my book, Confessions of a Cancer Conqueror

DOWNLOAD NOW
FREE DOWNLOAD

Please fill out the form below to receive your FREE Chapter + Video from my book, Confessions of a Cancer Conqueror.

Recent Posts

  • Skillet Strawberry Cake
  • Herby Turkey Meatballs
  • Dinner Combo – BBQ Chicken w Broccoli Rice Stir Fry & a Mushroom Skillet
  • Roasted Cauli Salad w grated Daikon Radish, Carrots & Cucumber
  • One Skillet Meal – Soba Noodles w veggies and prosciutto

Categories

  • Appetizer
  • Beverage
  • Blog
  • Breakfast
  • Cancer
  • Conquering Cancer Kitchen
  • Consciously Living
  • Conventional food
  • Core Value
  • Dessert
  • Emotionally Healing
  • Fight Cancer
  • Functional Nutrition
  • Just Diagnosed
  • Keep Moving
  • Loved One Has Cancer
  • Macrobiotic Diet
  • Main Dish
  • ORGANIC SPICES
  • Other
  • Recipes
  • Reducing Toxicity
  • Salad
  • Salt
  • Smart Food
  • Smart Shopping
  • Smart Shopping List
  • Smart Shopping Tips
  • Soup
  • Spices
  • Surgery
  • Sweet Treats
  • Tips
  • Toxic
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • July 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
null
FREE Chapter + Bonus Video from my book “Confessions of a Cancer Conqueror”

DISCLAIMER

The information and opinions on this website are not meant to be a diagnosis, medical or otherwise, of your health situation or a prescription for treatment. In using this website, you agree that you will not rely on its content as medical advice or as a substitute for advice given by your medical team or other healthcare professional. The program and recommendations offered are not meant to be a substitute for regular check-ups and examinations by your physician.

CONTACT ME

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Disclaimer

  • Home
  • About
  • Work With Me
  • Online Programs
  • Blog/Recipes
  • Love
  • Contact

© – Eat Holistic LLC – All Right Reserved

Cleantalk Pixel